A U.S. Senate aide was arrested Friday after allegedly arranging a lunchtime sexual encounter with a teenage boy, according to federal court records.

James McHaney, 28, was nabbed by FBI agents after he arranged the afternoon liaison via a “cooperating witness” working with investigators. According to the … felony complaint and an accompanying statement of facts filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the CW and McHaney were conversing online Friday afternoon when the CW asked whether McHaney was interested in engaging in anal sex with a 13-year-old boy.

“I’ll be there,” McHaney allegedly replied. He later asked for a photo of the child with whom he and the CW would have sex and whether the boy had “any pubes.” When told no, McHaney allegedly replied, “That’s hot.”

McHaney was nabbed in the lobby of an unnamed “predetermined location,” where he had arranged to meet CW. Until his arrest Friday, McHaney had worked as the D.C. scheduler for Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. A caller to Cantwell’s office was told late today that, as of last Friday, McHaney no longer worked for the Washington state politician.

A GP Reader tipped me off to this story with the following observation….

Nothing like the deafening sound of crickets chirping from the gay left blogosphere.

Unlike all the others who were entrapped for just being gay (or foottapping), this guy is a sex criminal.

And he has a Facebook profile: McHaney –loaded with pics of him at Human Rights Campaign events, wearing a John Kerry shirt, etc etc.

Sad.

My reader is a reliable source…. so I’m trusting him on the Facebook profile information. If anyone has the link and/or photos of McHaney touting his Democratic credentials…. please email them.

And never mind the gay left blogosphere…. where is Brian “Mark Foley” Ross from ABC News reporting about a child sex predator hooking up on US Senate computers?

In 549 B.C.E., Croesus, then secure as King of Lydia (a nation in what is now western Turkey), sought to expand his power by challenging the then-nascent Persian Empire. Because of the rapid expansion of that neighbor to the east, Croesus assumed it would be vulnerable to attack from his, a nation which has long since secured its power over the lands under its control. He grew ever more confident of his impending victory when he consulted the Oracle a Delphi and learned that if he crossed the river Halys, the boundary between the two realms, a great empire would fall.

When he crossed that boundary, an empire did indeed fall, but it was his own. Had he not sought to expand his realm — and his power, he would have likely continued to reign as a powerful king until his death. No wonder history remembers him not for his leadership, but for his wealth.

Half a millennium later, having defeated his rivals (and some former allies), Julius Caesar returned triumphant to Rome. He was assembling armies to attack the growing Parthian Empire in the East. Given his military record, his success seemed likely. But, before departing on that campaign in February 44 B.C.E, he declared himself dictator for life. A month later he was dead, murdered by a conspiracy which included some who had, until that declaration, supported him.

I thought of those men last night when I read that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez lost a referendum which would have strengthened the powers of the presidency and allowed him to run indefinitely for reelection. Even though Chavez controls the media on his nation, having closed down an opposition television network, he lost, in large part due to the “defection” of some of his erstwhile supporters who spoke out against this initiative.

Perhaps, just as those two historical rulers lost their secure positions of leadership when they overreached, so too will the Venezuelan strongman also fall for overreaching. Instead of this referendum serving to consolidate his power, it may will serve as the beginning of the end of his domination of Venezuela.

It’s too soon to tell whether or not this is the beginning of the end. With his nation’s economy in the tank despite rising fuel prices (which should be helping this oil-exporter), his people might start blaming their demagogic president for their woes. And now that he has been proven vulnerable, he may not be able to contain the forces rising against him.

Time will only tell whether this referendum represents a setback for Chavez or becomes the first nail in the coffin of his aspirations to control his nation as his buddy Castro has long controlled his.

When I went to the event last Saturday, I didn’t know what to expect. I was curious about what would take place and also a little excited to finally meet some of the folks I have read about, including a couple that were interviewed on the last Gay Patriot’s America podcast. What I didn’t expect was what I found and how much this would weigh on my mind, still leaving me to sort out some of it. The aspects involving efforts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” were good while the unanticipated personal side surprised me with the metaphorical kick in the pants. Many people tend to forget that I’ve only been “out” to family & friends for a little over 2 years now, something I myself overlook at times, so perhaps some of the reactions I had to the event are to be expected. However, like I said yesterday I’m going to save most of the personal reflections for a later date on my own blog.